Dolorous Dol"or*ous, a. [L. dolorosus, from dolor: cf. F. douloureux. See Dolor.] 1. Full of grief; sad; sorrowful; doleful; dismal; as, a dolorous object; dolorous discourses. You take me in too dolorous a sense; I spake to you for your comfort. --Shak. 2. Occasioning pain or grief; painful. Their dispatch is quick, and less dolorous than the paw of the bear or teeth of the lion. --Dr. H. More. -- Dol"or*ous*ly, adv. -- Dol"or*ous*ness, n.

This offering maybe right, or wrong, but it is one, the other, both, or neither!Blog,-Some Suttas Translated,Ajahn Chah."Others will misconstrue reality due to their personal perspectives, doggedly holding onto and not easily discarding them; We shall not misconstrue reality due to our own personal perspectives, nor doggedly holding onto them, but will discard them easily. This effacement shall be done."

I'm not sure about Latin, but in Pali/Sanskrit, dukkha comes from "du(ḥ) + /ka" = badness. "du-" is just a prefix like "mal-" in English and "ka" is probably just a suffix meaning "ness". Another etymology, Buddhist in origin is in the Visuddhimagga:

Here the word "du" is met with in the sense of vile (kucchita); for they call a vile child a "du-putta". The word "kham", however, is met with in the sense of empty, for they call empty space "kham". And the first truth is vile because it is the haunt of many dangers, and it is empty because it is devoid of the lastingness, beauty, pleasure, and self, conceived by rash people. So it is called dukkha.m, because of vileness and emptiness.

yuttadhammo wrote:Here the word "du" is met with in the sense of vile (kucchita); for they call a vile child a "du-putta". The word "kham", however, is met with in the sense of empty, for they call empty space "kham". And the first truth is vile because it is the haunt of many dangers, and it is empty because it is devoid of the lastingness, beauty, pleasure, and self, conceived by rash people. So it is called dukkha.m, because of vileness and emptiness.

These translations I have previously heard but their instrinctic nature appear not be of affliction but rather from the view point of the insight (vipassana) that results in liberation. These translations appear to side with dukkha lakkana, namely, the 2nd of the Three Characteristics.

I have heard a more basic meaning is 'difficult to bear' or 'hard to endure'. This meaning appears to tend more towards the state of mental afflication although not exclusively. For example, giving birth to a child, sickness, aging and death are 'difficult to bear', 'hard to endure'. Yet a mind with right view can endure these events without affliction.

Warm regards

But when the Blessed One had entered upon the rainy season, there arose in him a severe illness, and sharp and deadly pains came upon him. And the Blessed One endured them mindfully, clearly comprehending and unperturbed.

apparently it is linked, but not having knowledge of good etymology sites, or places to speak to, there is a distinct lacking in my ability to find any connection?

don't ya love titbits of info you get from people

This offering maybe right, or wrong, but it is one, the other, both, or neither!Blog,-Some Suttas Translated,Ajahn Chah."Others will misconstrue reality due to their personal perspectives, doggedly holding onto and not easily discarding them; We shall not misconstrue reality due to our own personal perspectives, nor doggedly holding onto them, but will discard them easily. This effacement shall be done."

Manapa wrote:apparently it is linked, but not having knowledge of good etymology sites, or places to speak to, there is a distinct lacking in my ability to find any connection?

don't ya love titbits of info you get from people

Hi, Manapa,You started by not being sure if it was linked. You've just seen a pretty good indication that it is not linked. Why do you now say that it is linked? Quite apart for the facts of the etymology, what would you gain if it were linked? The historical connection does not affect the original meaning of 'dukkha', the present meaning of 'dukkha', or the present meaning of 'dolour': any connection, at the very best, is a factoid.In the same way, it is entirely possibly that Julius Caesar was my 90-greats-grandfather. Would knowing that he was, change me? Should it?There are better things to spend your time on.Kim

Manapa wrote:apparently it is linked, but not having knowledge of good etymology sites, or places to speak to, there is a distinct lacking in my ability to find any connection?

don't ya love titbits of info you get from people

Hi, Manapa,You started by not being sure if it was linked. You've just seen a pretty good indication that it is not linked. Why do you now say that it is linked? Quite apart for the facts of the etymology, what would you gain if it were linked? The historical connection does not affect the original meaning of 'dukkha', the present meaning of 'dukkha', or the present meaning of 'dolour': any connection, at the very best, is a factoid.In the same way, it is entirely possibly that Julius Caesar was my 90-greats-grandfather. Would knowing that he was, change me? Should it?There are better things to spend your time on.Kim

why do you misrepresent what is said?

This offering maybe right, or wrong, but it is one, the other, both, or neither!Blog,-Some Suttas Translated,Ajahn Chah."Others will misconstrue reality due to their personal perspectives, doggedly holding onto and not easily discarding them; We shall not misconstrue reality due to our own personal perspectives, nor doggedly holding onto them, but will discard them easily. This effacement shall be done."

I'm sorry, Manapa, if my interpretation of 'apparently' was stronger than yours. To me, 'apparently it is linked' is 'it appears [to me] that it is linked', or 'the evidence I've seen leads me to think it is linked' OWTTE.If you meant something less definite, my response was a bit stronger than it should have been - though I still don't think there's any benefit to be gained from a definitive answer to the question. Peace,Kim

try apparantly, according to the souse of the information, it is linkedas I have no reason to think he is wrong, apart from not being able to find the link, which is more to do with doubt, than a knowing he is wrong, and knowing his credentials in the area, apparantly it is linked!

but having another perspective on Dukkha, to understand the term, cant hurt can it!

This offering maybe right, or wrong, but it is one, the other, both, or neither!Blog,-Some Suttas Translated,Ajahn Chah."Others will misconstrue reality due to their personal perspectives, doggedly holding onto and not easily discarding them; We shall not misconstrue reality due to our own personal perspectives, nor doggedly holding onto them, but will discard them easily. This effacement shall be done."

Sunset wrote:These translations I have previously heard but their instrinctic nature appear not be of affliction but rather from the view point of the insight (vipassana) that results in liberation. These translations appear to side with dukkha lakkana, namely, the 2nd of the Three Characteristics.

I have heard a more basic meaning is 'difficult to bear' or 'hard to endure'. This meaning appears to tend more towards the state of mental afflication although not exclusively. For example, giving birth to a child, sickness, aging and death are 'difficult to bear', 'hard to endure'. Yet a mind with right view can endure these events without affliction.

Yes, that is why I gave this as an ancillary definition in my post... if you had quoted the whole post, you would see:

In Pali/Sanskrit, dukkha comes from "du(ḥ) + /ka" = badness. "du-" is just a prefix like "mal-" in English and "ka" is probably just a suffix meaning "ness".